Lost

Chapter 91: "The Guardian of the Zamarud - I"

You lot posted quite amusing reactions in the previous chapter. You're so naive x'D. Anyway, remember to vote and comment as you read.

Goals: Same as last chapter ;)

Asim, who was sitting on the couch sick with worry and misery, was flicking through the channels absent mindedly. His unfocused eyes were trained on the wall instead of the screen of the television. The horrid information that Fahad had related to them was constantly roaming in his mind.

He could hear his sister going about her business upstairs. Last night, Asim found Sarah's number in the family phone book where all the important numbers were written in case of an emergency. He contacted her and asked her to look out for his 'rogue' sister. She put him out of his misery by letting him know that Salma was with her and he need not worry.

As Salma descended the steps, Asim's finger froze on the remote control, letting the television run a news channel. He turned around to face his sister. The new reporter continued relating to them the news of an accident in the background while Asim studied his sister's face.

"It is unclear, however, if he will be playing in the match against traditional rivals, Atlanta united. As confirmed by LA Galaxy's manager, Stephen Walter, the forward has sustained minor injuries –"

"'M Sorry," she apologized, her shoulder slumped.

"- a passenger in the other car. Are –"

The room went silent when Asim switched the TV off. Salma looked up to meet her brother's gaze, feeling guilty for giving him such a scare last night. She sighed.

"I was just so mad, it just terrified me . . ."

Asim raised his eyebrow. Salma's frown deepened expecting some sort of a lecture from her younger, 'self proclaimed' more mature sibling. He pursed his lips before turning away.

"I know," Asim muttered, much to her relief, "Are you better now?"

Salma let out a slow breath, plopping on the couch next to him. Asim noticed the heavy bags under her eyes – a telltale sign of no sleep and loads of distress.

"I am." She nodded.

Twenty minutes later, the two sat in silence as they drove to the campus together. Both of them were quiet, driving themselves sick with worry.

Last night, Salma had blindly driven to the gym, forgetting in her desperation that the Sarah closes the place down not a second later than seven. Once she reached there, she realized her mistake and headed to the campus instead.

Salma tried to explain the pinch she was in but for that she had to tell Sarah a well kept family secret. Salma was worried about letting Sarah in on such a dark side of her ancestral history but she needed a cool, impartial head to give her advice and she could not think of anyone besides Sarah for the job.

"Sthooriya – my ancestral land – is a valley surrounded by a strong fort of the mountains of Himlayas," Salma began, "The Sthooriy, or the people of Sthooriya are a warrior race divided into four different tribes. Centuries ago, the tribe living on the plains, or Landhini Sthooriy, were mostly farmers. They lived by the river and cultivated crops. They provided the grains. The tribe living on the meadows on the hills, called Manzanee Sthooriy, was largely shepherds. They provided meat and dairy, leather and wool for clothing.

"The Tor Gul Tribe, or the tribe living on the rocky slopes of the mountains, was largely concentrated on slanting slopes on either sides of the mountainous pass, which was the only way in or out of the valley. They built strong fortresses on the pass and served to control the movement of man and goods to and from Sthooriya. These were strong people and were usually considered as Sthooriya's defense against a foreign invasion. These people were also good at making and using weapons and raising strong fortresses,"